Hamburger Buddy

Very finely chopping onion, mushrooms and carrots in the food processor is not only fast—it makes the vegetables hard to detect for picky eaters. They also form the base for the sauce of this ground beef skillet supper. Make it a meal: Serve with a green salad.

READER'S COMMENT:

"Total comfort food! I've made this dish several times now. My partner actually requests it!
My modifications were based upon many suggested by other reviewers: Chop and shred your veggies for the texture, splash of red wine added...

154 Reviews for Hamburger Buddy

We like Hamburger Helper but don't like the additional sodium and other junk it has in it. So this was a good way to prepare a healthy dish...doubly easy if you have a food processor. We don't love to see mushrooms in our food so I processed them to a pulp. Same thing for the other veggies if you want it to be more like Hamburger Helper. Agree with other reviewers to lessen or omit the thyme since it comes across quite strong.

Also make sure to drain the ground beef after browning before adding other ingredients; especially if it's less than 90% lean like I used. I made half the recipe only to make the other half the next night because it was really good. It's nice to know you're getting your veggies in a one-dish meal.

100 comments

yes, i agree wit u. u gotta drain the meat; but i found out even wit the draining- it still be greasy. so what i do is get it really hot, then drain. put it back on stove, cover wit water, let boil, drain again. then i put it back on the stove, and add apple cider vinegar (just a little); just 2 like eat up the grease if any that remain. YEA, U GOT 2 SEASON IT 2 YR TASTE, CAUSE IT WONT HAVE ANY TASTE AT ALL, (did i say at all).

100 comments

i dont mess wit ground turkey, its 2 STICKY 2 yr fingers!!! if yall can help me solve that problem, then i will probably go back 2 it. but my main thing, when u getting healthy- its little 4 alot. and im a budget shopper whos on a food stamp budget!

The dish was fairly easy to make. The vegetables in the food processor definitely pureed them more than "chopped" them. Which was fine. It was a nice way to get the vegetable in the dish without the "picky eaters" knowing about it. Next time I would reduce the thyme seasoning to 1 tsp versus 2 tsp. I thought if was very overwhelming. I like thyme but this had just a little too much for my taste. I would up the salt another 1/4 tsp. Note that 2 cups of small elbows makes a lot! Otherwise, good dish and plenty of leftovers.

This dish is great comfort food. I think it would make a wonderful substance food if you were down with a cold. It's tasty with a thick and creamy broth base. I didn't find it bland, but our diet is mainly about cutting out a lot of sodium so we're used to tasting just the meat and vegetables. We love thyme but I believe you could fashion the spices and flavors however you like. It's easy to prepare. I don't have a food processor so prep time took a bit longer. I use a hand crank mincer/chopper and it worked just fine. Overall, this is a tasty dish I will be making again and again!

Total comfort food! I've made this dish several times now. My partner actually requests it!

My modifications were based upon many suggested by other reviewers: Chop and shred your veggies for the texture, splash of red wine added after veggies sauteed, no water, 1 cup Campbell's beef broth, 1 cup Campbell's beef consomme, and 2T of tomato paste.

100 comments

No offense taken. Consomme is just a stronger type of beef broth. Usually next to the Campbell's beef broth in the Campbells' display at your supermarket. You saute your meat and veggies til they're soft, then add the rest of the ingredients. Let me tell you, this stuff is so good it'll make you wanna lick your elbows!